I often wonder about the grand scheme of things... where do I fit in? Am I headed in the right direction? Why am I so unlucky in love? Why do I have to work so hard to get things that others get easily? What is the purpose of me being here?......you now get a peek into the life of a fellow who feels held back by invisible chains....curious?

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Cheers ...

As a few of ya may know, I had a gr8 time at an office bash recently. However, while there I was among a minority that didn't drink alcohol. Now most in that minority had never tasted alcohol but for whatever reason abstained. But, I could see that a few were tempted to try it out. I on the other hand found it very easy to stay away from alcohol. Know why? .....

I come from an over-protective, traditional/orthodox middle-class family ... which basically means that I neither had the money nor the freedom (phone conversations monitored, curfews @ 10 pm and so on) to indulge in anything remotely "exciting" for a teenager. But, after i turned 18, I decided to try alcohol at least once ... wondering what the big deal was .... and an oppportunity presented itself shortly ...

At that time dad was with a well-known MNC bank and for the annual office meet, they chartered a Catamaran that would cruise almost all night off the Gateway of India. I made my way through the crowd and asked for a beer ... very excited for it would be my first!!! (ya ya don't smirk ... :)

The bartender handed me a frothing mug of Fosters ... but before I could take a sip, a bunch of people recognized me as "the HR manager's son" ... Now, I was nervous ... I couldn't let Dad find out thru them ... so for damage control, I made my way to dad and casually (concealing my nervousness) informed him that i would be trying alcohol tonight ... strangely enough, he was cool with it ... and so I made my way back to my Fosters, filling up on starters on the way :).

Now, I must tell you that I have a sweet tooth and have always imagined that alcohol would be sweet and really tasty ... and with all this at the back of my head I raised the mug to my lips .... and then ... I almost spat it out! ... it was NOT sweet ... and it certainly wasn't tasty! It was a huge letdown ... and after about half a mug, I set it down and wondered why people were so crazy about this ...

Then as I binged on some more of the delicious greasy starters, I thought of trying some wine ... after all I'd drunk wine served in those tiny glasses (toasts to the newly weds) at wedding receptions and it wasn't too bad ... it was sweet too ... So I went to the bar and asked for wine. Now he asked me - Red or White? I had no clue what he was talking about ... but, being the 'confident n cool' teenager that I was, I said "Red, please". Probably coz' the only wine I'd seen (Port Wine, mind u) was red in colour. So, I tasted true Red wine too that night ... and it was just as horrible as the beer I'd tried earlier. But, I did drink half of the glass, mingling with the crowd, before giving up and chucking it into the sea.

I was really dissapointed with myself ... why didn't I like beer? Everyone else loved it ... but as i was pondering this and so many "collosal" problems that plagued my angst-ridden teen life, the boat started rocking ... i mean Catamarans are built to give a stable/steady ride ... but here, i could feel the deck sliding away under my feet ... but everyone else seemed calm ... then i realized that i was drunk ...

Sheesh!!! I felt really uncomfortable as I was taking unsteady steps and finding it hard to maintain my balance ... I hated that I wasn't in control of my senses ... Somehow I pulled/dragged myself to a dark corner of the boat ... and held on to the railings and looked at the dark sea ... the waves actually seemed quite inviting I must tell ya ... I must've stayed there for quite a while before I started throwing up ... Yuck!! ... Starters, Fosters, Starters, Red Wine ... Yuck!! into the sea ...

I felt much better after that 'cleansing' experience ... and made my way back to the main deck ... mom and sis came over and asked me to join them for dinner ... i was in no mood for dinner ... even though it was a lavish spread and I love a good meal ... so i just sat there ... cursing alcohol for robbing me of the chance to have a good time and an even better dinner ....

I decided then and there itself that I would never drink alcohol again ... and to this day, Thank God, i have not had even the slightest attraction for alcohol ... I've never had to miss any dinners due to alcohol again ... :)

And any time I feel out of place at a party where almost everyone is drinking, I order Apple juice and walk around with it, pretending its some hard drink ... and I'm left alone (read - not teased) by pretty much everyone ... or I just order a Mocktail and pretend its a Cocktail ... after all who can tell the difference between a Bloody Mary and Tomato Juice in a party? hehe :)

... Necessity - the mother of invention ... how true ;)

----I didn't wanna actually write this initially, as it shows how childish I am in so many ways ... but then I thought what the heck ... u guys think I'm a kid as it is, eh? ... hehe :)

15 Comments:

...lol! grow up yaar :P hehe..just kiddin' ^_^...i love to drink wine(probably red) but not that often and i hate beer too..it sucks!! i just don't like it, i dunno too so don't be dissapointed with urself.

**after all who can tell the difference between a Bloody Mary and Tomato Juice in a party?**lol...i think those who fond of drinking it knows ^_^

..yeah, i think ur still a kid :P

..hey thanx for that crazy horrorscope u've sent ( really horror huh) was scared after reading that ^_^

I belong to a traditional, middle class background too... My father, being a role model n every way for all the men in the world, hardly drinks and has never touched cigarettes.. Imagine how it is to live with a roommate in mumbai who is a born 'bewadi' and smokes like a chimney.. :D

I gues the principles permeated by my parents includes that of tolerance.. :)

But once when me and some of my friends decided to check out a pub in Mumbai, we also decided to taste liqour.. I went ahead with the idea, which actualy stemmed from my confidence in myself in knowing exactly where to draw the line..

I left it to my room-mate (the only experienced one in our group) to decide a cocktail for me.. I dnt know what she had in her mind when she ordered 'S** on the Beach'.. ;)))

I tuk my first sip.. and .. Yuck!! "It tastes like nail polish remover", I exclaimed. My roommate gave me a u-gawaar-from-coconut-land look.. My other friend was having wine (i think it was white). I sipped it hoping it wud be sweet.. Nope!!! I was surprise to know it cudnt get more bitter than wine... I cursed all my teachers in KG classes who made me memorise over n over agn the phrase "As sweet as wine"..

Seriously.. I really dnt understand what men (err. n women) see in liqour.. i cant stand its taste nor its odour.. And swinging around in half consciousness in hardly my definiton of enjoyment..

HahahHey...Personally I dont drink n nor do I like any of those things...I think I tried tasting beer from my dad when I was very young n could not even go ahead n swallow it....Ppl used to think of me as less cool n less hip earlier but I didnt care n created my pwn style different from a norm of party drinking...PPl understood I have more to offer than being someone who can share a drink with them n it went cool cool cool! Nice tht u wrote this out

hey not aking alcohol isnt childish alright. Besides, what make those who take alcohol an adult? kids drink illegally and think its cool, but its just stupid. Don't be shy for what you are. just be yourself. ;)

childish! dude...this is the stuff of blogs. Man...now...u c i had a similar trying experience at the university. But it did not take over me...im a casual drinker...but never let it control u. How? Well...just be the bar-tender! get me?

i do drink on occasions. but you have to be responsible with your action. i don't know why people don't want to drink at some special occasions. they never tried it, yet they want to make it an issue out of it.

look my point of view:

ppl who don't drinks. thinks that they're the BEST ppl around. i'm good etc....is like saying i'm christian therefore i don't commit any sin.

ppl who drink...they must have a problem. the only is if they drink too much and mumble stupid stuff.

I decided then and there itself that I would never drink alcohol again ... and to this day, Thank God, i have not had even the slightest attraction for alcohol ..Good to hear about this decision...I'm proud of you dude!!

@ElaineA really good point buddy! ... i agree completely ... but this post was just on why I don't drink and what I do to try to fit in ... its not about whether those who drink are any better or worse than teetotallers ...

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ... (1 Corinthians 13) The Holy Bible